The News Frontierhttps://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com
Journalism's transition from print to webThu, 14 Dec 2017 00:50:09 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngThe News Frontierhttps://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com
The intentional online journalism packagehttps://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/the-intentional-online-journalism-package/
https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/the-intentional-online-journalism-package/#respondSun, 25 Nov 2012 20:18:37 +0000http://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/?p=166]]>Ronald A. Yaros, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland and the director of the Lab For Communicating Complexity, contended in his 2009 article Mastering Multimediathat journalists need to find a way to keep readers engaged in online media packages. He argues that a good package needs to be “contiguous”– that is, the process of adding multimedia elements and combining them with text at just the right place in a story.

Back in 2009, and still today, publications will throw print articles online, slap a video next to or underneath the article, and call it a multimedia package. But Yaros argues that placement of multimedia components must be intentional and accommodate a reader’s instinct to think linearly on a non-linear webpage.

Yaros explains: “Text with one or two specific photos plus at least one brief (i.e., 10-second) video clip, combined with appropriately placed audience input and an explanatory graphic or brief animation addressed in the text, is more effective at extending the engagement of the general news audience than a dense page of text or a page with four- or five-minute videos.”

Readers need breaks in their reading or the writer will lose them. But these breaks also have to make sense, and they can’t last for to long. Thus, a block of text and then a one or two minute video that further illustrates the text and stimulates the senses increases the reader’s time on the page.

]]>https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/25/the-intentional-online-journalism-package/feed/0ucfcrimeandsafetyImageOrlando’s only nonprofit coffee shophttps://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/orlandos-only-nonprofit-coffee-shop/
https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/orlandos-only-nonprofit-coffee-shop/#respondWed, 21 Nov 2012 16:34:46 +0000http://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/orlandos-only-nonprofit-coffee-shop/]]>]]>https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/orlandos-only-nonprofit-coffee-shop/feed/0ucfcrimeandsafetyIs Twitter ruining journalism?https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/is-twitter-ruining-journalism/
https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/is-twitter-ruining-journalism/#respondSun, 18 Nov 2012 20:32:26 +0000http://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/?p=119]]>PBS Off Book, a web series that explores art and internet culture, produced a video that puts into perspective a question that many newspeople have been asking themselves lately: “Is Twitter ruining journalism or making it better?”

Analysts in the video charge that Twitter enables journalists to develop and share stories as they’re happening. At the same time, anyone with a Twitter account is able to do the same thing. Which information is valid? It’s hard to say– but that doesn’t mean journalism doesn’t have a place among the torrent of tweets.

Journalists have a responsibility to help bring news that matters to the surface. Trending topics on Twitter can be dismal in terms of representing what people are most interested in– so news people need to try their hardest to not only let people know what’s going on in their world, but let them know why those things are relevant to their lives.

The video also makes the point that if the public determines what is news and what is not through what they read on the Twittersphere, which is traditionally the role of the news media, our society may become even more fragmented than many scholars say media has already caused it to become.

Here are some notable quotes from the video that may make you stop and think about Twitter’s role in journalism, and vice versa:

“Journalism is less about making a product and more about providing a service.”

Journalists who really excel at Twitter are those who recognize that it’s not just a promotional platform…it’s a global conversation.”

“We have to break out of this idea that news is a once-a-day platform.”

]]>https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/is-twitter-ruining-journalism/feed/0ucfcrimeandsafetyTwitter indicated election 2012 outcomehttps://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/twitter-indicated-election-2012-outcome/
https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/twitter-indicated-election-2012-outcome/#respondSat, 10 Nov 2012 23:41:40 +0000http://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/twitter-indicated-election-2012-outcome/]]>HootSuite, an online dashboard that allows you to connect to multiple social networks from one website, delved into the tricky game of election analytics this election cycle and found out a few interesting things from their results.

By analyzing tweets and tweets only, the people at HootSuite were able to predict the nature of public sentiment toward both presidential candidates.

What they found was that tweets about Obama were around 20 percent negative, while tweets about Romney were 36 percent negative.

HootSuite started aggregating these statistics during the last few weeks of the race.

Additionally, many more people in general were tweeting about Obama than Romney, according to twitter stats. On Nov. 5, about 59,000 people tweeted @mittromney while more than 85,000 tweeted Barack Obama. When it became clear that Obama was going to sweep the election, the incumbent president’s twitter mentions became increasingly more common than those about Romney.

On the flip side, Paul Ryan’s twitter account was much more popular than Biden’s during the election, but first lady Michelle Obama trumped Ann Romney’s popularity stats exponentially.

Obviously, these statistics are not demographically representative of the U.S. population. Twitter users tend to be younger, I would assume, and younger generations were more supportive of Obama’s camp than Romney’s. Even still, HootSuite’s analysis offers an interesting glimpse into the public opinion that is thrown so freely into cyberspace and, in essence, is at the complete disposal of media scrutinization.

]]>https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/twitter-indicated-election-2012-outcome/feed/0ucfcrimeandsafetyImageOnline newspapers- what you’re actually paying forhttps://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/03/online-newspapers-what-youre-actually-paying-for/
https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/03/online-newspapers-what-youre-actually-paying-for/#respondSat, 03 Nov 2012 14:33:36 +0000http://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/?p=107]]>I’ve heard lots of grumbling over the past couple of years whenever another newspaper puts a paywall up on their site. People have become accustomed to surfing the web and digesting whatever information they’d like to freely, and many see paying for online news as antithetical to their basic right to roam on the world wide web.

But if you think about it, it makes sense. Online newspapers offer what their print predecessors cannot-– interactivity through engaging multimedia. If people paid for simple text and photos before (not to belittle the hard work that goes into producing a print product) why should they feel robbed when they’re charged for seeing/experiencing content that may have taken days, weeks, or even months to put together?

Not to mention, newspapers have to stay afloat somehow. And many aren’t because they haven’t figured out a web model of providing information that people might willingly pay for.

With all that in mind, I do believe that if a publication is to charge for their online content, it should have a quality multimedia value to it. Online subscribers deserve to have a different experience than they do when they open up the paper every morning. I think that some papers have jumped the gun, believing they have to keep up with the Joneses, and they’re charging for material that lacks the interactive oomph that other publications make a point to supply.

Since I’ve been reading online news I’ve always appreciated the multimedia the New York Times provides with many of their stories. They usually have galleries and videos for articles that should have those accompanying elements.

To see what I mean, check out their coverage/videos/photos of Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath here.

]]>https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/11/03/online-newspapers-what-youre-actually-paying-for/feed/0ucfcrimeandsafetypaywallAudio editing on the gohttps://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/10/27/audio-editing-on-the-go/
https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/10/27/audio-editing-on-the-go/#respondSat, 27 Oct 2012 23:07:31 +0000http://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/10/27/audio-editing-on-the-go/]]>The iTunes app store is teeming with applications ready to be taken advantage of by multimedia-obsessed journalists. This, obviously, is a good thing. But since there are a lot of complicated tools out there that might trip up a reporter on deadline, it’s probably best to stick to the good and simple applications iTunes has to offer.

2. You edit the recording from your phone with a system similar to Audacity (this includes being able to layer sound clips, if you’d like)

3. Once edited, you can share the file straight from your phone via email, SoundCloud, iTunes, or load it onto an FTP server.

The “lite” version of Hindenburg is free (through this you can edit and export a maximum of one minute of audio), but the full application is $29.99. A little steep for a reporter’s pocketbook– but you can’t put a price on convenience, right?

]]>https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/10/27/audio-editing-on-the-go/feed/0ucfcrimeandsafetyImageDigestible multimedia journalism – what makes a project workhttps://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/digestible-multimedia-journalism-what-makes-a-project-work/
https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/digestible-multimedia-journalism-what-makes-a-project-work/#respondFri, 12 Oct 2012 15:21:38 +0000http://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/?p=102]]>While perusing the Internet for good examples of multimedia journalism to model my upcoming projects after, I stumbled upon a package by the San Jose Mercury News that chronicles the lives of people living in a soon-to-be torn-down trailer park in Sunnyvale, Calif. in 2007.

Marilyn Baker takes a rest while one of her grandsons Eric moves her belongings onto an U-Hall truck on May 30, 2007 at Flick’s Mobile Home Park in Sunnyvale. (Dai Sugano / Mercury News)

There were several things about the package’s composition that kept me watching.

Dynamic alternation between still photos and video.

Tasteful use of black and white and shadowy that seemed to match the sadness of the trailer park residents. Slow, minor-key background music was also present throughout the videos, but it didn’t distract from the message of the story.

Whenever a question of detail came to mind, the pace of the video slowed and text materialized that explained why exactly the trailer park was being torn down, how long the residents had to move out, etc. But the information wasn’t overburdening– it was concise.

The video story’s sources showed contrast between the lives of a young family (even the family’s youngest daughter and how being uprooted from her area middle school and friends would be difficult at her age) and an elderly woman who didn’t have anywhere else to go. The conflict and strife illustrated in this project spanned generations.

To take a look at this great example of multimedia journalism, click here.

]]>https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/digestible-multimedia-journalism-what-makes-a-project-work/feed/0ucfcrimeandsafetySunnyvale residentMedia outlets showcase smartphone photographyhttps://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/media-outlets-showcase-smartphone-photography/
https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/media-outlets-showcase-smartphone-photography/#respondSun, 07 Oct 2012 18:58:04 +0000http://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/?p=78]]>Smartphones are undoubtedly one of the greatest technological assets to modern-day journalism. They record audio, video, and those in the media have been taking advantage of the quality photos many mobile phones can produce.

For example, editors at the Tampa Bay Times have sent photographers on fun photo assignments where they document areas of the community with their iPhones.

The above photos are taken with the iPhone 4S by a professional photographer who is used to lugging around pounds and pounds of expensive camera equipment. Yet she was also able to take visually appealing photos with a device that she can carry around in her pocket.

The convenience of smartphone photography will inevitably lead to, and has already sparked a movement of reporters taking photos and video on scene with a lot less hassle, and probably more experimentation in photography among reporters who may have otherwise felt too intimidated to delve into the visual aspect of stories.

]]>https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/media-outlets-showcase-smartphone-photography/feed/0ucfcrimeandsafetyImageImagePro journo Facebook pages- where’s the line?https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/09/29/pro-journo-facebook-pages-wheres-the-line/
https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/09/29/pro-journo-facebook-pages-wheres-the-line/#respondSat, 29 Sep 2012 23:47:51 +0000http://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/?p=47]]>Earlier this month, Harry Deitz, the chief editor at the Reading Eagle, a Pennsylvania paper I interned with this summer, wrote a column explaining to readers the blurry ethical implications of the daily’s reporters’ professional Facebook pages.

It’s easy to see why Deitz found value in writing this column. The mid-sized paper has about 7,000 followers on Facebook. Their night-time police reporter, Jason Kahl, has nearly 5,000.

A graphic depicting Jason Kahl, Reading Eagle crime reporter. He uses the picture as his “cover photo” on his Facebook professional page.

How has one reporter garnered such a following? The city of Reading, Pennsylvania, has significantly high crime rates, and as a result much of the paper’s coverage revolves around the violence and drug-related happenings in the area. Kahl, who launched his Facebook professional page in June of this year, has become known for avidly updating the page as crime stories develop. He also interacts with his fans constantly and casually.

While I was interning at the paper I’d often hear conversations concerning what crossed the line when it came to Kahl’s posts on Facebook. The debates were over many things, such as what developing news could be posted before it ran in print or online.

“We have been facing the challenge of determining what is appropriate to post and what is not. We have standards for our print editions that often are not in line with these social media sites,” Deitz wrote in his column.“With our print products, we avoid rumors, we usually wait for official information and we refrain from sensationalizing. With online social sites, it’s so easy to post an offhand comment.”

Now the Reading Eagle has begun to monitor these pages to ensure that the quality and appropriateness of its reporters’ social media posts parallels that of the paper. One of the copy editors has been assigned the duty of doing so, as well as analyzing and removing questionable posts.

I can only imagine that this is also happening at other papers across the nation. My assumption is that publications will begin to incorporate “rules for the web” sections to their ethics codes. After all, this ongoing debate is one of significant impact for the future of news– once something is online there’s no going back.

]]>https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/09/29/pro-journo-facebook-pages-wheres-the-line/feed/0ucfcrimeandsafetyImageThe iPhone 5’s reporting perkshttps://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/iphone-5s-reporting-perks/
https://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/iphone-5s-reporting-perks/#respondMon, 24 Sep 2012 00:40:27 +0000http://reportingrevolution.wordpress.com/?p=38]]>As it has with each of its debuts, the new iPhone is causing a frenzy at malls across the nation since it hit the stores last week. Apple fans can’t get their hands on the revamped smartphone fast enough. But for the first time since the iPhone became the must-have gadget a few years back, I find myself wondering how this mini-computer might enhance my reporting abilities.

The iPhone 5, which features a four-inch screen and a lighter body than its predecessors.

The 4G network that’s available on the iPhone 5 is about five times faster than the 3G older models operate on, allowing journalists in the field to send material faster.

The camera has a faster “shutter speed”, making it quicker and easier for journalists on the run to get the shots they need. It also has enhanced low light capabilities for indoor and night-time breaking news.

Apple boasts that the iPhone 5 has a longer battery life, an assertion the company makes each time they release a new iPhone. If this promise proves to be true a better battery will be of obvious value to multimedia journalists.

It has three microphones on the front, bottom of back of the device, making this iPhone a more likely stand-in for a quality interview recorder.